In trying to draw Spike, at first I was just going to submit to the show style but 3 mins in I realized there was a lot I wanted to adjust and I was asking myself a lot of questions.

I don't know how to draw these things until I know what they are. There's apparently zero consensus, almost every comment is different. The only thing I know is that I'm pretty certain they're not leaves as one person suggested.

Also, finding specific fanart interpretations is a bit difficult as I don't watch and save/follow any artwork of Spike.